Durashift Fix Using Ebay Type Vcm Diagnostic.

[satrader]

what are the errors when using IDS ?

Me, I am using version 91.01

[Eddie58]

I was using v86 but it went on line to Fords to get the the latest software flash then it lost communication with the TCM. The company that fixed mine warns not to carry out further updates, as communication may be lost. One question how old is your car????? I did read that the older models do not respond to VCM 2 so well. One man said use VCM ! and older software to fix the problem. I am no expert, but if your car is an older model, and you can find older equipment it may be worth while.

[satrader]

I was using v86 but it went on line to Fords to get the the latest software flash then it lost communication with the TCM. The company that fixed mine warns not to carry out further updates, as communication may be lost. One question how old is your car????? I did read that the older models do not respond to VCM 2 so well. One man said use VCM ! and older software to fix the problem. I am no expert, but if your car is an older model, and you can find older equipment it may be worth while.

I use a VCM II chinese clone.

maybe if I use as-built data, the TCM can relive, but it's difficult to find this file.

[Eddie58]

The car is fixed and running as new. So it appears all was down to the corroded wire, which I fixed earlier. However when the TCM clutch actuator was reflashed using the clone VCM it corrupted it. So it went to a garage for re learning set up, after the actuator had been repaired by ACTRONICS. Cost me in the end £300. Now the car works fine. The conclusions I have made are, the route problems are almost certainly mechanical or rusting of the wires, (which was the course of all this) and that the clone VCM 2 is not up to the job of updating the software, for the TCM but is man enough for the other modules, as it worked on all the others well. This may be because my clutch actuator had been repaired before, and maybe the company do there own software fix, which later using the bog standard Ford software update some how messes things up. So when you see -- in the dashboard it does NOT mean a new unit for £1600, they CAN be repaired for a small fraction of the cost. Same goes for the gear change actuator, they CAN be repaired also for a small fraction of the cost of a new unit.

Thank you all very much who helped me here. I will continue to monitor this blog, and if I can help anyone in the future, please message here, and i will get back to you as soon as I can.......Eddie

[lilo]

Like you lot, I'm learning as I go. Star Date 23/03/2015.

Must thank that bloke who came up with the "actator and reamer" solution.

'03 Fusion, as above symptoms, began as intermittant starting weeks ago.

Diagnosed at Ford today; slight leak on thermostat housing and faulty clutch position sensor.

The death rattle could be heard when he quoted £1793 for the sensor!!

Just found a possible reputable company will refurbish the clutch position sensor assembly for £130 guaranteed for some years.

If as and when I get my car home from the Garage, I shall REVERSE it in (thanks Budding') and strip out the clutch and gearbox actuators.

Will look at the "new brushes" situation on the clutch position sensor assembly and ease of access? (Terrified of getting boxed in to a corner where nothing works at all without main dealer computers!)

On first approach to the main dealer, shop floor manager said it was a common problem on 02, 03, 04 Fusion / Fiestas, could be due to brushes wearing out over time inside the clutch position sensor assembly.

My half decent code reader came up consistantly with P000 which seems to indicate an "undesignated code" thanks a lot!

All ready done the brake switches, earth leads batt conns and 60amp fuses plus a second hand starter (Thought it was a faulty solenoid, this started out as intermittant starting and progressed)

When I get round to drilling out that plastic end plug, I should be able to get a depth mic reading to the end of the helix / screw shaft for accurate position before reassembly?

If I use or do not use the "refurbish" company, I'll post results here.

Going to look for 'brushes. on eBay now........................

[lilo]

Having read that it is ok to mention names here, the site I found was "ecusolutionswales.com in Swansea.

They say it is" plug and play" after refurb' with indefinate gurantee...years, life of the unit.

Does that sound like a simple brush reworking on the motor to you? That would last trouble free for years wouldn't it?

£130, I'm tempted!

[Dan62]

Check the gear actuator assembly first, it could just be the bearing problem.

There was another post recently that appeared to be the clutch actuator but turned out to just be the gear actuator.

If you are going to remove the clutch actuator you will need a vacuum pump to bleed the clutch, something like this

£130 sounds reasonable if you get a lifetime guarantee and then you don't have to mess around finding suitable brushes.

Good luck.

[Eddie58]

Hello I would want to know the true fault codes before pulling everything off. Also I would have some one turn on the ignition while I had my hands on both the clutch and gear change actuators to see if I could feel the motors trying to work. My car had a corrupted clutch actuator, (fixed my actronics), but this corruption was due to the wire corroding. So you will still have to check every wire for continuity. The company you mentioned in Wales I have heard good reports on.

[lilo]

Ooopps....the penny dropped while I was watching the telly; the "depth mic" for position won't work because that shaft turns it doesn't move forwards and backwards!

This morning, I shall try to get my car home from the garage, and strip off the TCU and send it off for refurb.

Fingers crossed!

[Dan62]

Ooopps....the penny dropped while I was watching the telly; the "depth mic" for position won't work because that shaft turns it doesn't move forwards and backwards!

This morning, I shall try to get my car home from the garage, and strip off the TCU and send it off for refurb.

Fingers crossed!

It goes up and down. Easy to just mark the shaft with a permanent marker once you've got the motor off and maybe take a picture too as you can count the notches in the shaft to reposition.

[lilo]

Right, Ford charged me £96 for the diagnosis and to correct slight leak on therm'stt hsng, worn rear screen wiper, tyres legal but renew and so on all trivia (reversing light not working (it was earlier.) probably due to sensor position.) etc, to correct it all only £2,293 including £1,793 for the TCM. On an '03 Fusion with 54000 on it?

It's plain frightening!

TCU went in the post this afternoon to Wales for £17, speedy delivery, awaiting events......

[lilo]

Further to previous; Fusion semi auto '03, diagnosed as "dtc p0810 clutch pos sensor code will not clear-tcm req ref ids.pp"

Even if ford know about the "sticking actuator" situation, I suspect they fit new because they have to gurantee the work done?

I
tried to 'prime' the technician by asking if a problem with the g/box
actuator could produce a false reading from the clutch control unit. He
said 'no' because the clutch unit comes first and tells the actuator
what to do. (Perhaps Ford really don't know about this?)

Common problem now in 2000-2003 models progressively onwards.

Previous;
wouldn't start easily, progressed to cutting out on the road, wait 10
min's and it would start again for a mile, then cut out, wait 10 min's
and it would start.

Diagnosed at ford (£93,) quoted
£1793 for a new clutch control unit or £2,249 to swap a light bulb,
rear wiper blade, thermostat gasket (slight leak) and change my brake
fluid!

Came to this Forum and encountered our Swedish cousin LASSE! Owe him a everything!

Refurbishing the clutch units;

ecusolutionswales.com ("Claim it is plug and play.")
15 Mount Pleasant
Gowerton
Swansea
SA4 3EN
UK (£130 plus postage to and from £20 each way)
___________________________________

ecutesting.com

I think these are in Colchester and slightly dearer.

___________________________________

(RELEARNING!
when you start first time DO NOT REVERSE OUT of the drive, you can lose
data doing that, set up to drive striaight off! Let the engine idle for
a while as it relearns where things are and what you have done to it at
least 10 seconds. It then needs a drive for 10 or 15 minuets to relearn
its driving settings ( It's all crazy stuff now?) That's the theory.

___________________________________

Fitted
the refurbished unit, car started easily would engage but not drive
off, just rocked forward and back. Desperate now. Only thing left
untouched was the g/box actuator, following Lasse's instructions;

Try, if you can, to make sure you are in the correct N parked position, to be safe, on reassembly.

Fitting /removing the Torx bolts are 2 different sizes so watch the hidden one in the recess= larger.

(The
small hex bolt on small bracket, top left of unit looking down, is
useful to locate and take the weight on refitting with a screwdriver
through another bolt hole for support.)

Electric cables; squeeze 2 thumb pads or lift the top edge up and pull off. (They're all bleeping different?)

The
plastic ball joints can be prised off, carefully. I removed the
backwards facing screw at the lowest point of the moving joints. It has a
thread in the shaft so position is not lost. (Someone says the sqaure
plastic ball joint will slide out on it's own so don't need to remove
that screw.)

Actuator;

Remove the cover screws, (I'm assuming we were in neutral, (don't know if it matters or not for sure??)

Use
a centre punch to mark the casing below and the gear teeth above for
position. To mess it up, you'd have to be one whole tooth out, so you
have some lee way.

(I tried to see if the top end
plastic bush would tap out. The lid broke off the end neatly, so I depth
miked with Calipers, from the top down as a back up on reassembly when
you can't see 'cos the cover is going on. Stuck it on with glue and
covere it in clear bathroom sealant)

As others have
shown, remove any linkage and withdraw the marked shaft, buff or ream
out scuffs and peer up inside the plastic sleeves. You should see
smallish black marks that show where the tight spots are. Ream or polish
out. (I think I needed to be more agressive with the top end, may need
to revisit to take more out.)

I used silicon grease (High and low temp.) as petroleum based grease can affect some plastics.

Bleeding;
The plastic nipple on top of the clutch bell housing closest to you.
Note and lift towards you, the spring clip. The plastic bit to the RIGHT
of the clip, should now turn easily by hand.

(Used an
Ezeebleed system using spare tyre for pressure. Bled the unit downwards
and upwards and downwards again. (You get desperate!)
ecusolutionswales say there is about a third of a litre in it, just enough to work the
high pressure pump, it's not full to the top!)

Marked improvement,
I could now drive my car off the blocks. Any junction or roundabout was
a nightmare, it wouldn't go into an idle position automatically. Had to
knock it into neutral by hand! Awful experience. Then had to restart
from beginningin Auto to drive off and try not to stop!

My
best guess; 1st gear would be when the toothed shaft is furthest up
inside the sleeves. I don't think I took enough out of the top end and
made too close a sliding fit. If it was looser, I think the car would be
able to get into the lower gears and neutral at junctions?

(I've re-booked (£93) at Ford to "relearn" the ECU about everything. If taking a bit more out works I can cancel.)

Pics;

ABC mounting torx screws

D hex nut on small bracket

E spring clip and plastic nipple.

[lilo]

Star Date 10 Apr 2015

Just got my Fusion back from Ford Central after re-programming.

They said it had a small leak on the high pressure side when the engine was running and there was still air in the system.

They refitted the HP joint and bled it. £157.

Drove home beautifully but my confidence in it has been shattered!

Bleeding the unit; I bought 2 litres of fluid, used an "ezeebleed" system with pressure from spare tyre to 'drive' it.

Bled it downwards and back upwards (After unsuccessful test drives.) and downwards agin. 1/3 of a litre left, no air bubbles in sight.

I think the missing trick is to HAVE THE IGNITION ON.

(The Haynes manual is not sure exactly how best to bleed it) By having the ignition on, the High Presssure Pump is working the fluid through? What do you think?

If your car is giving lots of weird symptoms and behaviour and the actuator is taken off and found OK ( Do that first, less chance of having "memory problems" on refitting!) If it's not cured it appears (after reading all the posts on here.) that the problem, in cars 7 years old and upwards, have worn out brushes in the internal electric motor of the TCU, located near the battery and front headlight.

See addresses above for re-furbishing your unit. Should be "Plug and Play" on return!

£420 I reckon all in, £130 refurb+ postage e/w =£40, Diagnosis 1 £93, diagnosis 2+ bleeding £157.

If it had worked as Plug and Play, cost would have been £363 against Ford's quote of £1793.90 fitted.

[Juney00]

Just thought I would add my bit to this thread. We had the dreaded no gear, stuck in gear, not starting problems. After trying the gear actuators and wiring, we eventually sent our clutch actuator off to www.ecusolutionswales.com and had a fantastic service. They say this is a very common problem, and I can confirm that once the unit is returned and fitted to the same car, no programming is needed. Cost was £130 plus £15 return postage, and it cost me about £12 including insurance to post it there next day delivery. They turned it round in a day, and I had it back the following day. My husband bled the clutch using a syringe, and sucking fluid from the bleed nipple, and topping up the reservoir. It wasn't happy until he squirted a syringe full of fluid in through the nipple. Now it is running really smoothly. The gears have never changed that smoothly before, and its like a new car. Here is a link which also tells you that it is a common fault with these cars. We were almost going to scrap the car as a repair at Ford's would not be viable on such an old car (2003). Good luck if you are having this problem

http://www.ecusolutionswales.com/ford-fusion-14-clutchgearbox-actuator-repair-48-p.asp